Bruce Charlton writes that Russians might have "turned a corner and reversed their decades-long civilizational decline." He points to Russia's return to Orthodoxy as an explanation. But is it true that Russians are becoming more religious?
The World Values Survey has asked Russians since 1990 about the frequency of their church attendance. I limited my analysis to Russians with university educations since the actions of leaders are most important. I calculated the percent of people who go to church at least for major holidays:
Percent attending on major holidays or more frequently
1990 13.8
1995 23.6
1999 24.4
2006 37.1
That's a pretty big increase. And let us not forget that Russians stand for the entire service (pews are available only for the sick and elderly) which runs about 2 1/2 hours. That's dedication.
Are gun owners mentally ill?
Some anti-gun people think owning a gun is a sign of some kind of mental abnormality. According to General Social Survey data, gun owners ...
